News

Matthew Arnold ’02 has created Siberia, a drama about reality television contestants in peril, coming to NBC this July. The show features writers Dorian Hess ’02 and David Paster ’11.

Walt Becker ’95 is an executive producer for Bad Parents, a comedy in development for TBS about four couples trying to juggle the pressures of parenthood and their fleeting youth. Walt will also executive produce Do It Yourself, a pilot comedy for TBS about a laid-off math teacher who finds blue collar work at a big-box home supply store.

Chris Black ’81 has written the drama pilot Reckless, about a man who must fight to help free his wife from an unjust imprisonment abroad, which has been picked up by ABC.

Jon Bokenkamp ’95 is a writer and executive producer of The Blacklist, a drama about a surrendered fugitive helping a rookie FBI agent catch a wanted terrorist. It comes to NBC for the 2013-14 season.

J. Cameron Brueckner ’06 is in production for War For The Web, a documentary exploring the implications of internet freedom. More information can be found on www.warfortheweb.com.

Bryan Burk ’91 will produce Star Wars: Episode VII. The film, to be directed by J.J. Abrams, is scheduled for a 2015 release.

Arvin Chen ’06 has directed the feature comedy Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, which made its premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Fruitvale Station, written and directed by Ryan Coogler ’11 with a crew of fourteen USC students and alumni, was in competition for the Camera D’Or in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. The film won the "Avenir" prize.

R.J. Cutler has signed a two-year, first-look deal with Showtime to produce and direct documentaries. His first film under the deal will be a profile of Marlon Brando.

Ross Dinerstein‘05 produced the thriller Mr. Jones, which was acquired by Anchor Bay at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Chris Fedak ’98 is a writer and executive producer for The Last Cop, a drama in development for TNT about a police officer emerging from a 20-year coma to a changed life.

Scott Foundas ’98 has joined Variety as the chief film critic.

Gary Foster will produce Who Invited Her?, a comedy about a woman who invites herself to a bachelor party weekend, through Reese Witherspoon’s Type A Films.

Mark Friedman and Bryan Burk ’91 are executive producers of Believe, a drama about a 10-year-old girl with telekinesis, which will premiere on NBC for the 2013-14 season. Burk will also executive produce a buddy-cop action series for Fox set in a near-future in which human cops are paired with android partners.

Phil Goldfine ’86 is an executive producer of Second Sight, a dramatic pilot about a homicide detective whose blindness becomes an advantage after he discovers he can use heightened senses and intuition to solve cases. The show was picked up by CBS.

James Gray ‘91 has written and directed The Immigrant, which competed for the Palm D’Or in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.

Ryan Green ’03 has directed Circle the Wagen, which will make its world premiere at the 2013 Albuquerque Film & Media Experience. The film, a self-proclaimed buddy/road-trip/docu-dramedy, was executive produced by Charlie Pecoraro ’03 and produced by David Torstenson ’03, with cinematography by Lawson Deming ’05, assistant editing by Austin Flack ’04, and art direction/camera by Leslie Ridings ’05.

Leslie Iwerks ’93, granddaughter of Mickey Mouse’s co-creator, has begun work on a documentary commissioned by Disney about the company’s Imagineering division.

Aaron Kaplan ‘90 is an executive producer for Friends With Better Lives, a romantic comedy in development for CBS about six friends whose various love lives are each others’ envy. Kaplan is also executive producer for Pulling, an ABC comedy following three dysfunctional women in their 30s.

Kyle Killen ’97 has written the pilot and will executive produce Influence for 20th Century Fox TV. Influence is a drama about two brothers who head an agency using science and manipulation to attack client problems.

Melissa Lee ’07 has produced Bends, which made its world premiere at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard category.

Jonathan M. Levine '08 wrote and directed the feature thriller The Daughter. It was produced by Alex Garcia '08, Logan Burdick '07, and Trevor L. Nelson '07, and edited by Lauren Connelly '06. The film had its World Premiere at WorldFest–Houston International Film Festival in April 2013, and is being distributed domestically and internationally by Fabrication Films. Visit www.thedaughter-movie.com for more information.

Joseph Levy has won the Audience Choice award at the 28th Santa Barbara Film Festival for his film Spinning Plates, a culinary documentary.

Jeffrey Malmberg ’94 has won a Guggenheim Fellowship in Film/TV.

Meera Menon ’11 directed Farah Goes Bang, which has won her the Nora Ephron Prize at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Alexander Mirecki ’09 directed All Together Now, which will make its world premiere at the 2013 Los Angeles Film Festival.

Jeffrey Nachmanoff ’94 will executive produce Hostages, a CBS drama in development for the 2013-14 season about a surgeon and her family who are kidnapped by a rogue FBI agent and forced to assassinate the president.

Gabe Sachs ’84 is a writer and executive producer of The Nightshift, a medical drama about a returning military doctor who finds something to fight for working at a Texas hospital. It will come to NBC for the 2013-14 season.

Ian Sander is an executive producer for Reckless, a legal drama in development for CBS in which rival attorneys must set aside their mutual attraction to deal with a city at the brink from a police sex scandal.

Thomas Shelly ’87 will executive produce American Dream Building, a home-design and building reality show coming to NBC for the 2013-14 season.

Scott Speer ’04 will direct Spinback for Lionsgate/Summit, an action-thriller set against the electronic dance music scene.

Stephen Susco ’00 will adapt Harbinger, a comicbook series with a dark twist on superhero mythology, for Valiant Entertainment and director Brett Ratner.

Adam Sztykiel ’00 is a writer and executive producer of Undateable, a new comedy series about romantically challenged friends. The show will come to NBC for the 2013-14 season.

John Wells ’82 will executive produce Boomerang for Fox, a drama about a family of assassins conducting covert operations for the US government.

James Whitaker ’94 will produce the sci-fi/romance film Departure for Good Universe, based on the true story of a mysterious aviation phenomenon over Miami that remains unexplained.

Mark Wolper ’83 will executive produce the sci-fi series Red Brick Road for Warner Horizon Television, a dark and edgy sequel set in the Wizard of Oz universe.